LECTURE 4

STRESS!

What Is Stress?

What is Stress? Stress is a dynamic

condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, a demand, or a resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.

Do you think stress is always bad?

Is Stress always bad?

Stress is not necessarily bad in and on itself. Although stress is typically discussed in a negative context, it also has a positive value. It’s an opportunity when it offers potential gain. In short, some stress can be good and some can be bad.

WHAT DO YOU THINK A STRESSOR IS?

Stressors

Potential Sources of Stress (Three main categories) Environmental

Factors: Economic Uncertainty (like job security)

Political Uncertainty (in the government)

Technological Change (new innovations can

make an employee’s skills obsolete in a very short time).

Potential Sources of Stress (Three main categories)

Organizational Factors Task Demands

(Factors related to a person’s job like autonomy, task variety)

Role Demands

(Relates to pressure placed on a person as a function of the particular role he/she plays in the organization)

Interpersonal Demands (Pressures created by other employees)

Potential Sources of Stress (Three main categories)

Role Demands: Role Ambiguity: Uncertainty surrounding job definitions or job expectations • Role Conflict: Superiors have varying expectations of their employees which they many times cannot meet • Role Overload: Asked to do more than time or ability permits. • Role Underload: The opposite; too little work. • Ethical Dilemmas: E.g. report unethical behaviors

Potential Sources of Stress (Three main categories) Personal Factors Family Problems (marital difficulties,

difficult children)

Economic Problems (overextending their

financial resources)

Personality (negative aspect of

the world)

Family issues (e.g., marital difficulties, breaking up of a

relationship, children discipline problems) Personal economic problems (e.g., many

people have wants that always seem to exceed their earning capacity)

Inherent personality characteristics (e.g., a significant factor that influences stress is a person’s basic disposition)

Career concerns (lack of job security, status incongruity, i.e., less status, power and prestige than people think they deserve)

Geographical mobility(geographical moves)

WHICH OF THE THREE FACTORS DO YOU THINK CAN CAUSE THE BIGGEST STRESS AT WORK?

Individual Differences

Individual Differences refer to what differentiates people in terms of their ability to handle stress. What moderates the relationship between potential stressors and experienced stress.

Four potential variables have been found to be relevant moderators:

Perception Job Experience Social Support Personality

Perception

One person may feel that the possibility of losing a job can be something devastating and another might see it as an opportunity to move on to something better. It depends on the way he/she perceives things.

Job Experience

It is negatively correlated with work stress levels. The people who stay in an organization, within time develop mechanisms to cope with stress

Social Support

Relationships within the organizational environment. It can help release negative energy.

Personality

People who are quick to anger, maintain a persistently hostile outlook, and project a cynical mistrust of others are at increased risk of experiencing stress in situations.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS?

CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS

Physiological Symptoms

Recent research demonstrates that stress has harmful physiological effects. Changes in metabolism, increase heart and breathing rates, increase blood pressure, headaches, and induce heart attacks.

Psychological Symptoms

Dissatisfaction, tension, anxiety, irritability, and boredom. Evidence suggests that jobs that provide a low level of variety, significance, autonomy, feedback, and identity to incumbents create stress and reduce satisfaction and involvement in the job.

Behavioral Symptoms

Changes in the productivity, absence, and turnover, eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.

STRESS AND JOB PERFORMANCE

Is it always a negative relationship?

Relationship Between Stress and Job Performance Inverted-U

With low and high stress we have low job performance. With moderate level of stress we have high performance. Generally it is good to induce an amount of job stress enough to give a sense of urgency. Anything more than that can cause unwanted symptoms which can be harmful for both people and organizations.

DO YOU THINK PEOPLE CAN MANAGE THEIR STRESS?

Managing Stress

Individual Approaches

Time Management Making daily lists of

activities to be accomplished

Prioritize activities according to priorities and urgency

Handling the most important parts of your job during the high part of your cycle

Individual Approaches

Physical Exercise Aerobics Walking Jogging Swimming Riding a bicycle

Individual Approaches

Relaxation Techniques

Meditation

Hypnosis

Biofeedback

Individual Approaches

Expanding Social Support Network

Family Friends Colleagues

Organizational Approaches

Improved personnel selection and job placement

Training Use of realistic goal

setting, redesigning of jobs

Increased employee involvement

Improved organizational communication

Offering employee sabbaticals

Establishment of corporate wellness programs